The Lineup: The first question that will come to most minds of those who've been fans of the Megabass product but have yet to try one of their sticks is how do the Orochi XX lineup compare to all the other series and do any of these sticks lineup with some of the more legendary builds in Megabass's history. We, of course, are in a unique position to provide you with this insight. Let's take a look at the lineup (note, the names in
parenthesis beside each model denote the National Pro Staff primarily responsible for that model's design)!

There are currently only two spinning models in the lineup.

F3-611XXS Drop Shot (Aaron Martens): The first question that will enter most fans' minds is how does this stick compare to the former F3-610DGS Aaron Martens Limited or even the new, F3-610X4S within the Orochi X4 lineup. We wracked both Orochi XX spinning rods to compare against both sticks. For the Orochi XX Drop Shot Rod
specifically, we can see its deflection curve (Fig 1 red line) is almost at an identical rate to the other Aaron Martens Limited rods, but overall, it's a step or two softer in power because the curve is higher.

The spinning sticks, of course, are designed by one of the most famous finesse fisherman in the world, Aaron Martens.

"The F3-611XXS is a great 7-10lb. line drop shot rod. It's excellent for throwing 4 to 6 inch worms, and ideally suited for places like the great lakes, Guntersville, Clear Lake or anywhere where you are fishing for bigger fish. I would recommend it for anything from 1/16th to 1/2 ounce drop shot setups. This is not your average ultra-light tackle drop shot rod."

- Aaron Martens, B.A.S.S. ELITE

Fig 1 : This chart compares the deflection characteristics of the new Orochi XX spinning rods to that of two generations of Aaron Martens Limited sticks.

F3 1/2- 70XXS Shakey Head (Aaron Martens): The Shakey Head stick has a faster taper than that of the Drop Shot and as you can see from Figure 1, above, it has a softer tip (yellow curve), but the same backbone as the Drop Shot. Because of its faster taper, overall, this rod will feel slightly more powerful than the F3-611XXS.

"This is my go-to shaky head rod, especially when I am fishing 6 inch worms. This rod is perfect for 7-10lb., even 12lb. line with 1/16 - 3/8oz. shaky heads. It's a great rod for skipping docks and fishing tubes, and while it's good with lighter rigs, this rod still has some solid meat to it."

F4 1/2 - 68XX Jerkbait Special & F4 1/2 - 70XX Flat-Side Special(Aaron Martens): Looking at these rod's specifications, one would assume they each lineup with different iterations of Megabass's legendary Elseil. But charted against the X4 Black Elseil, we can see they're both slightly less powerful. Looking back at some of our other data, we're actually very surprised to see they both lineup extremely well to G.Loomis's MBR843C GLX. We would have assumed the MBR842C not the MBR843C. Looks like we'll have to take a closer look at this comparison out on the water.

Fig 2 : This chart compares the deflection characteristics of the new Orochi XX F4.5 power rods to some other, more familiar rods. Note how they almost lineup exactly with our previously Wracked MBR843C GLX.

Aaron Martens on the F4 1/2-70XX Flat Side Special :
"I'm a tall guy, so this is a great VISION ONETEN and MAGNUM rod. It's a very parabolic rod, so I also use it for medium depth crank baits, 3/8 to 1/2 oz. vibration baits, and medium-sized dog walkers like the GIANT DOG-X and XPOD."

The F4 1/2 powered rods in this lineup are designed for topwater, jerkbaits, and cranks.

F5-610XX Spinerbait Special (Luke Clausen): The specification on this stick is
reminiscent of Megabass's base destroyer Bearing Down, only the taper of this stick is more moderate than that of the Bearing Down. Charted against the same sticks as the two F4.5 powers above, we can see the Spinnerbait Special comes out slightly more stout than our Search For One candidates. Given it's a graphite stick, we'd expect good, general purpose versatility out of the F5-610XX.

"The only spinnerbait rod I will ever need. At 6'10" with a medium fast taper, I can hit close targets accurately yet still have the power to fish a big spinnerbait deep."

- Luke Clausen, FLW Tour

Fig 3 : This chart compares the deflection characteristics of the new Orochi XX F5 powers rods to some other, more familiar rods. These sticks align more closely with our Search for One campaign.